End Of The Line
by Nyte Kat
Summary: All good things must end, even the Swat Kats. Though, not all endings are happy. Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

_**End of the Line**_

_I remember when Feral stripped us of not only our ranks but our jobs as well. It was the first time I'd ever felt real failure. He stuck us away in that shit-hole of a salvage yard so that we could pay for the damage we'd caused one dollar at a time. We were angry. We wanted to get back at that yellow-furred jackass of a commander for discharging us wrongfully. It wasn't our fault. And everything seemed to fall into place. The pieces of a new life, a chance to do what we couldn't do as an Enforcer, were there in twisted piles of metal waiting for the chance to become part of something bigger. We became something bigger. The Swat Kats became a force of unbeatable heroics. Feral couldn't touch us. The worst of the super villains to ever scratch the surface of Megakat City could not defeat us. We were icons. We were heroes. _

The sound of a gavel pounding echoes throughout the courtroom.

_We were._

"My verdict is for the plaintiff. I sentence 'The Swat Kats' Jacob 'Razor' Clawson and Chance 'T-Bone' Furlong to twenty-five years in a maximum security prison for damages done to Megakat City, the illegal discharging of weapons in city limits, the creation of weapons not approved by the National Firearms Committee, the illegal piloting of a jet that hasn't been approved for flight, not abiding by citizens arrest laws and violating a no-fly zone." The heavy-set judge set the list of violations down and sighed, pulling off his glasses and wiping them with the sleeve of his robe. He then looked to the unmasked vigilantes. "I'm sure you understand that, with the amount of damage you two have caused and the number of laws that you've broken, your sentences can be much more severe than this. However, you two have saved this city too many times to count. While I feel that if I were in Commander Feral's position I would have not arrested either of you, but here you are and it is my job to pass fair judgment. You do have the chance for parole, though you do have to earn it like everyone else." He pounded his gavel again. "Court is no longer in session."

Jake looked to Chance as the guard pulled him to his feet. For the second time in his life, he felt like a failure. He was sure Chance felt it too. They were being hauled off to prison as if they were Dark Kat or Dr. Viper. Feelings of fear, anxiety and dread tightened in the pit of his stomach and the only word that seemed capable of escaping his lips was one that earned him a sharp look from the guard ushering them to the bus that would take them to Hell. "Fuck."

Chance had to bite down hard on his tongue to keep from arguing the verdict. He knew it was the best they could get. The only thing they had was saving the city. And there was too much damage to cover up. What now? They would be sharing cell blocks... even cells with the same criminals they helped lock up. He could hold his own, but what about Jake? Jake wasn't exactly intimidating unless you were talking quantum physics or something. And Chance doubted there would be a prison full of geeks. He would have to find a way to watch out for his partner. Even without the masks and the gadgets, they were still a team.

On the prison bus to Megakat Penitentiary, Jake looked at Chance, a pleading look in his eyes. "Never thought this day would come. I figured if we ever were found out, the mayor would pardon us or something."

Chance sighed and stared at the handcuffs. They seemed to glow in contrast to the bright orange jumpsuits. "We did knock over a few buildings. We should have expected the fallout to be greater. Feral will die the day he stops being an asshole."

Jake sighed and looked out the window. They were heading into the desert. Last year, Al-kat-traz was deemed unsafe and a new prison was built. During the transportation of criminals, Turmoil teamed up with Rex Shard, Hard Drive and Dr. Viper to escape. The Swat Kats helped capture them and even dropped them inside the walls of the new prison. He was sure their welcome would be less than warm, and their stay unpleasant.

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End of Chapter One... read and review please


	2. Chapter 2

Jake stared out the cold metal bars, a deep frown on his face. Where did they screw it up? How did Feral manage to get the better of them? When did they let down their guard? In a moment he found himself with his face pressed against the cell door and a knee being pressed down on his groin from behind.

"What a twist of fate."

Jake groaned as the pressure increased on his balls. He squeezed his eyes shut, recognizing the voice, but unable to turn his head and look.

"Almost everyone here was hoping to share a cell with either you or your partner. Looks like I won half the prize." Rex. It was Rex Shard. Jake took a deep breath.

"How's it going, Rex? They treating you nice in here?"

Rex showed his dislike for the former swat kat's tone by pressing his face into the metal with more force.

"Alright, great." Jake felt his eyes begin to burn. "Look, we're not that different. Both of us. We were pissed off. You got shot with a crystal vacuum. And I got kicked off the Enforcers. When you think about, we both have common enemies."

"What do you mean?" Rex relaxed a little.

"We both got screwed by the system. We were just on different sides." Jake attempted to reason.

"Sounds like hippie bullshit to me, swat kat. You want to know what I think?" Rex leaned closer, not really waiting for an answer. "I think life is about to really suck for you." He pulled Jake's head back and then slammed it into the bars with enough force to break the skin while leaving him conscious.

* * *

Chance snarled as the prison guard shoved him into a cell with a great deal of force. He looked around. Kats had paws hanging between the cell bars, laughing, waiting their turn to pound the face of a swat kat. Chance examined the bunks. The bottom was empty, while the top bunk seemed to sink down to almost touch the bottom bunk. At first it wasn't anyone Chance recognized. Then his cell-mate sat up. His black and purple fur clashed with the orange he was now forced to wear. "Crud." Chance hissed.

"It would seem the commander is paying good money to place the swat kats in cells with their enemies. Particularly the ones with the strength to destroy you." Dark Kat almost smiled.

"I don't see why you'd want to destroy me, Dark Kat." Chance crossed his arms over his chest. "With us in here, who's to stop you out there."

"Good reasoning T-Bone, however, you fail to notice that I'm in here as well." Dark Kat leaped to the floor. "All because of you."

"Not because of me. Because you tried to blow up the city again." Chance stood his ground even as Dark Kat moved closer. He never was afraid of the megalomaniac. Even now as the giant criminal lifted him off the ground. Chance kicked wildly, landing his foot firmly in Dark Kat's stomach, earning him his freedom from the maniac's grip. "I get the feeling things are about to get really difficult." Chance muttered as the guard cuffed him and took him to solitary. "Look, Dark Kat started it."

The guard sighed and stopped. "Hey, I agree this isn't fair. You guys did a lot for this city. But I have to act on what I saw. I got a job to do. And I can't let my personal feelings interfere."

Chance just shook his head as the solid door closed and locked behind him, leaving him in a tiny space with a dim light and a thin mat on the floor. He snarled and punched the wall. "DAMN YOU FERAL!" He screamed in fury, punching the wall again.

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Alright second chapter up. Read and Review 


	3. Chapter 3

**_Allow me to take a moment to thank my readers and answer a couple of questions. First and foremost, thank you to every person who reads my fiction and supplies a review. You are a gigantic help in my creative process._**

**_Second, I've received two questions in particular I felt needed an answer._**

**_1: How did Feral arrest the Swat Kats? Keep reading. It's no fun to give all the facts at once._**

**_2: Shouldn't Dark Kat be in a a special cell? I thought about that, actually. But then I also thought of how I like to keep things a little more real. It's hard to do with all sorts of mutated super villains running around; so lets think of it in realistic terms. What's more maximum than a maximum security prison? I don't have a clue. But if my country (that being the united states for anyone not knowing what country I'm from) can lump together the uni-bomber, serial rapists, drug dealers and terrorists in the same maximum security prison, I think Dark Kat fits right in. And besides, there's got to be somebody in there that can take on "T-Bone"._**

**_Now on to chapter three. Now that the holi-daze (lol) are over I can concentrate on this thing of a story._**

* * *

It had been nearly a week and Jake and Chance felt like they were barely hanging in there. They found a small empty table in the corner of the prison cafeteria and held whispered conversation while the other inmates eye-balled them as if they were the juicy steak they were waiting for in their last meal. Jake suppressed the shudder and met Chance's eyes. They were dull and filled with anger. While Jake had maintained a defensive, non-violent demeanor, Chance had not allowed anything or anyone to push him around.

"When we get out of here, Jake. First thing I'm going to do is walk up to Feral and punch him." Chance poked the gruel around his tray with a plastic fork.

"And then get arrested and end up back in here. That's a great idea, buddy." Jake looked down, feeling as if he hadn't eaten in a week, but still not willing to taste the colorless "meal" that seemed to blend in with the gray metal tray.

"And you aren't going to make it even to a parole hearing if you don't start defending yourself." Chance snarled, eying the purple, mildly swollen bruise on Jake's upper left arm. In his mind the words "I'd rather die than have to stay here for even a shortened sentence" echoed menacingly but never left his lips. Instead, Jake just sighed, like he always did when he didn't know what to say. Chance looked down at his "rice" and suffered a taste. It really wasn't that bad, as long as you kept reminding yourself what it was supposed to be. When he looked up, there was a very large inmate standing at their table, his massive biceps straining against the cheap orange material of his jumpsuit. His paws were behind his back and a toothless grin was on his rugged, scarred face. "Are you gonna eat that?" He asked Chance in a voice that was disturbingly soft. "You mean, this is food?" Chance replied, meeting his eyes.

"You won't be so funny when you're really hungry and that's all there is, swat kat." The kat replied. "But I got something a little more filling for ya." With that, his left paw swung out from behind his back holding a metal tray, and in less than a second, just as Jake looked up, that tray knocked him backwards and onto the floor with a loud clang. Chance stood up and grabbed a hold of the gigantic arm wielding the lunchroom weapon. In a matter of seconds, the cafeteria was in an all out uproar. Soon, armored guards filled the large room with riot shields and guns loaded with rubber bullets. It didn't take much pelting to bring order back to the prisoners. Chance immediately abandoned the hope of pummeling in the face of the giant brute before him and practically hopped over the table to get to Jake. The metal tray had knocked him out cold, leaving a small bleeding gash in its wake. Before the guards could cuff Jake and carry him to the prison infirmary, Jake stirred with a soft groan and a muttered swear.

* * *

"After a long day at the polls, Katizens of Megakat City are finished casting their votes and the tallying is done. For the first time in two terms, we have a new Mayor."

Chance's jaw dropped and he groaned loudly. They no longer had a powerful ally. With Mayor Manx voted out of office, along with him would go his deputy mayor. Callie was nothing more than a normal civilian whose opinions and ideals had no sway with the military. It would be only a matter of time before the Swat Kats were unmasked. He could feel it deep in his gut.

"This is not good, buddy," Jake verbalized what Chance was thinking. "With a new mayor, how are we going manage saving the city and keep our cover?"

"What are we supposed to do? Scrap the jet? And all our weapons? What about the city, Jake? We can't just flush the Swat Kats down the drain because the risk is higher. This city needs us. Even if it means taking a fall. Besides, what could they do? Most of the kats in this city owe us their lives! They can't overlook that." Chance slumped. Despite his sudden burst of mediocre optimism, he knew things were going to get bad.

* * *

"Unh..." Jake opened his eyes again. The last thing he remembered was Chance staring down at him, his lips moving, but no sound coming out. Now, the only thing staring down at him were the cost efficient fluorescent lights illuminating the medical ward. The walls were slate gray and made of concrete, and somewhere was the hum of some sort of machine. His stomach rumbled and his eyes watered.

"No!" Jake screamed at himself inside his mind. "I won't break down here!" A shiver erupted from his spine and shook violently through his body. He attempted to wrap his arms around his body and roll over, but his movements were restricted. Slowly rolling his head in an upward angle, Jake realized that he was restrained to the bed at the wrists. Looking towards his feet, he noticed that his ankles were also held in place. Gritting his teeth to fight back the scream of frustration building up in his throat, Jake's vision became blurred with furious tears. Squeezing his eyes shut and taking a deep breath, he calmed himself. Then he reopened his eyes and cleared his throat. "Hello?" He called, unable to look for an orderly or a guard of some sort. "Is there anyone there?"

"What d'ya need?" A gruff, hoarse voice snarled, sounding as if he'd been jerked from a nap.

"I- I was just wondering if maybe you could fill me in..." Jake asked attempting to force the tremble out of his voice.

"Someone took a swing at ya with a tray. Knocked you out pretty good too." The guard stood up and walked slowly into Jake's vision. He was a fat one with slick black fur and a greasy double chin.

"No. I meant the restraints. Why am I restrained? I'm not a criminal." Jake felt his throat dry up.

The guard laughed; his blubbery neck looked like gelatin. "Of course you're not. Nobody here is really guilty. They are all here by mistake."

"You know who I am. I never did anything but good for this city." Jake narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah sure. How do I know you weren't just scrapin' a little off the top for yourself? Nobody's really innocent."

Jake closed his eyes and then suddenly shot up against the restraints "I SAID I'M NOT A FUCKING CRIMINAL!" He jerked, snarling obscenities and spitting at the guard. All his anger pouring out of him as he fought to jerk free.

The guard pressed a fat greasy paw against a button "Yeah I need the doc in here. Tell 'im to bring a nice tranq for this one."

"You think you're so high and mighty, passing your judgment." Jake's voice dropped to an incriminating whisper. "If it wasn't for the Swat Kats you wouldn't have time to sit back and stuff your fat face with cakes and cookies."

"What did you say?" The guard narrowed his yellow eyes.

"I said that you're a disgusting FAT FUCK not worth the time that we spent putting all these jackasses in here for you so that you can sit around and JACK YOUR FUCKING DICK because you're too incompetent to do otherwise!" Jake's voice came in dry cracks and squeaks as an orderly and the resident medical officer burst through the doors, syringe in paw. Jake didn't fight it. He wanted the peace. He wanted the quiet. He wanted the nothingness more than he wanted freedom.

* * *

Chance watched from his cell, waiting for them to bring Jake back. He could see Jake's cell from his. It was right down the corridor. A yelp caught his attention and he turned his head. At the opposite end of the long gray hallway was a very obese security guard with Jake's head underfoot. "Looks like you're the one not worth _my_ time now, you skinny little punk!" Jake didn't make a sound and the guard proceeded to haul him to his feet and drag him. Chance watched as he pulled Jake passed the correct cell.

"Looks like Razor's earned a little Solitary." Dark Kat arched his dark eyebrows, reveling in Chance's agitation. "I heard he made quite a scene in the infirmary last night."

"What are you talking about?" Chance spun around.

"Oh, something about Razor finding his restraints less than desirable and his company a little too corpulent." Dark Kat grinned maliciously. "They injected him with a hefty amount of sedatives. In fact, he probably didn't even feel the beating he received prior to his confinement."

* * *

Jake shivered convulsively, his back to the wall of the windowless cell. The thin stained mattress on the cold dirty floor did nothing to comfort the throbbing bruises beneath his standard issue coveralls. He kept swallowing, trying to coat his dry throat with his own saliva. Without warning, Jake threw himself against the steel door with a force that could break a rib. A ragged cry escaped his throat as he slid down to the floor. He could have prevented this. There was something he could have done or should have done. He was Razor and Razor thought of everything. He could have invented something to protect them. He should have taken the time to make their secret unbreakable. But he didn't and in the end let down the city. Worse than the city, Jake had let down his partner. He had failed Chance. And by failing Chance, Jake had failed it all.

* * *

"Callie, listen to me. With you out of office, how will you possibly be in a position to protect the city?" The new deputy Mayor purred in a handsome business-kat voice. "I've known you for years. You can trust me not to let this city down."

"I don't know, Clifton. This is a big responsibility. The Swat Kats trusted me to help them protect this city." Callie held the communicator in a firm grip, unsure of how the new deputy mayor had learned about it.

"Would you like me to take an oath? You know I have this city's best intentions in mind." There it was, that gleam in his eyes that she had found irresistible in college. Sighing, she gave in and handed him the communicator.

"Promise me you'll do the right thing?" Callie pleaded.

"I promise," Clifton Furbarringer smiled an almost sinister smile. "I won't let this city down. Now relax! You've worked too hard in too short a time." He practically forced the box of office supplies into Callie's paws. "You won't make it in law practice as stressed as you look."

A sad look filled Calico Briggs' eyes as she took her belongings and turned softly towards the door.

Once the new deputy mayor was sure Callie was gone, he picked up the phone, dialing Commander Feral direct. "It's done," he said to the voice on the other end. "I have the communicator."

* * *

Chance pushed the mop bucket down the long hallway. His mind played pictures of that day. How Feral had the new Deputy Mayor call in a fake hostage situation. They should have known it was a trap. Even before they burst through the mayor's penthouse windows, they both voiced bad feelings. They should have known Feral would take the new occupants of city hall as an opportunity to apprehend the Swat Kats. A small chuckle escaped his lips. Even now, he found a small bit of satisfaction in Feral's shock that the identities of the city's biggest vigilantes were the biggest "screw ups" to ever get the boot off his squadron. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by the rattle of keys down the corridor behind him. He sighed moving out of the way, not looking up until the sound was right behind him. Chance's eyes widened. "Jake..." he whispered. Jake met Chance's eyes, a pleading look pooling at the brims of Jake's own eyes. Then almost as if they had never made that connection, Jake dropped his head and continued being led back to his cell. Chance ground his teeth. They would be allowed into the court yard for a demented version of "recess". They would talk then.

* * *

Jake sat on the ground, his back against the steel fence that extended upward about 20 feet. His face was aimed at the ground, his chin rested on his knees. He didn't move, even as Chance sat next to him. "Hey kid, you don't look so hot." Jake allowed himself a soft chuckle. That was the first thing Chance had said to him at the academy. Being a scrawny nerd in Enforcer academy had led Jake to be the victim of excessive hazing from the other recruits, and undeserving brutality from his superiors. Chance was the first kat to talk to him without a clenched fist.

"Do you think this will ever be over for us?" Jake looked up, a vulnerability in his eyes Chance hadn't seen for a long time.

"Yeah. Yeah it will."

_**

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More chapters coming, I promise. I know it took a long time but trust me, I have more excuses than a three legged race horse! Anyway, read and review!**_

_**N.K.**_


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